Trey and Cherie Rood

Trey and Cherie have written a book about Trey’s battle with cancer. What a story!

About the Authors

Trey Rood is a twenty-one-year-old senior at University of Georgia and member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, Delta Chapter, at UGA. Growing up in Cumming, Georgia, as a big Georgia Bulldog fan, he started playing football when he was seven years old, and it quickly became his favorite sport. Trey was diagnosed with stage III melanoma cancer near the end of his freshman year of high school, went through surgeries and treatments for a year, then relapsed to stage IV melanoma the start of his senior year—all while continuing to play football as a starting defensive player at one of the largest high schools in metro Atlanta. Trey underwent many surgeries, fought off eleven brain tumors, tumors popping up daily, and various melanoma treatments his entire senior year. At the eleventh hour, he found a treatment that finally and definitively worked: adoptive T-cell treatment with Dr. Patrick Hwu at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas The live-saving treatment gave him the ability to start his freshman year of college in August 2010—a feat that most would have bet against, even though Trey always knew he’d get there. Today, when not studying business and finance, Trey loves to play football, wakeboard, and snowboard.

Cherie Rood grew up and attended college in Kentucky before moving to Atlanta, Georgia, and marrying her husband Charlie. She started her career in the mortgage industry as a loan officer, which led to a successful twenty-five-year career in mortgage insurance. Cherie never gives up in any situation, pushes hard for answers, and is very motivated; she can be very outspoken and loves socializing/networking. Cherie proved her fortitude, aggressiveness, and courage, doing whatever it took to save her son’s life from stage IV melanoma. She has two college-age sons, Trey and Wes, and her hobbies include skiing, water sports, creative crafts of all kinds, and tailgating at college football games.

Together, Trey and Cheri, through a friend and ghostwriter, have told their compelling story as a mother and son to fight one of the deadliest forms of cancer. They not only show their will to do whatever it took to survive, but to also stay positive, never give up hope, and keep the faith through an experience that will inspire many.